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The Enneagram’s
Nine Personality Styles
Style One
People who compare reality to a set of standards. May be
objective, balanced and morally heroic or repressive, critical
and perfectionistic.
When Ones are less healthy, their preoccupation with principles and
high ideals degenerates into a more mundane concern with the rules.
Such Ones may still crusade for a cause but have more ego-
involvement than they realize. They confuse morality with moralism
and discernment with judgment.
Social problems can emerge because Ones have trouble knowing when
they are angry and don’t realize how scolding or repressive they sound
to others. When insecure or feeling criticized, a One’s defensive
reaction is to start judging. They simply don’t accept reality as it is and
don’t think you should either.
Very unhealthy people with this style can grow obsessive, paranoid
and zealous. They can be cruel and persecutory in the service of
goodness. Unhealthy Ones can be morally vain and hypocritical, as
well as obsessed with fulfilling ill-conceived projects and missions.
Many forms of religious and ideological fundamentalism are shot
through with the spirit of unhealthy Oneness.
Style Two
People who see the world interpersonally and define
themselves through service to others. May be selfless, loving
and giving or dependent, prideful and hostile.
All personality styles do this somewhat, but Twos, Threes and Fours
are most deeply prone to confuse seeming with being. They share a
general propensity for losing track of how they actually feel in favor of
how they imagine they feel within the roles they are playing. People
with these styles are prone to conflicts in relationships and matters of
the heart.
Two is the most purely interpersonal of all the Enneagram styles. Twos
are most apt to conceive of life as a fundamental give-and-take
between people, regarding all human beings as members of one vast
family. Within this point of view, giving love becomes the most
important thing a Two can do.
When Twos are less healthy, they still send their attention over to
others, but now they forget to return to their own position. They begin
to repress their own needs and funnel their energies toward taking
care of others whether others need it or not. Now they over-identify
with others, losing their sense of themselves and compulsively giving
in hopes of being recognized, appreciated and loved. Through the
medium of other people, Twos try to give to themselves, to satisfy
needs that they have rejected in themselves and relocated in others.
Twos at this stage can also begin to fear being abandoned and alone.
The saintly high side of this style is very high indeed while the lowest
expression can be drastically destructive. The motif of stalking an
objectified loved one goes with the unhealthy side of this style as does
the metaphor of the vampire, who lives on the blood of others.
Style Three
People who measure themselves by external achievement and
the roles that they play. May be truthful, accomplished and
sincere or conniving, competitive and false.
When Threes are less healthy, their strategy of being successful and
well rounded yields to a desire to seem that way and they start to cut
corners to maintain an image. Threes can slip into impersonations and
play a role of themselves, adopting chameleon-like poses in order to
seem noteworthy in different contexts. They begin to deny their
personal feelings and increasingly identify with a mask. Most Threes
have an Achilles heel, a sense of inadequacy that they compensate for
with achievement and role-playing.
Intimate relationships can suffer as Threes re-route their feelings
through their image of who they should be. They may present a
persona to friends or partners, hiding a deep sense of flaw and,
instead, offering a mask for others to love. Expediency and efficiency
become more important, and an unhealthy Three may begin to enjoy
the feeling of non-feeling. They may think of themselves as high-
performance engines whose purpose is to race from task to task,
securing outcomes before dashing on to new finish lines. Its not
uncommon for Threes to talk in sports metaphors and believe that life
is only a game, a game that’s played to win.
Style Four
People who live principally in their imagination and feelings.
May be artistic, articulate and inspiring or whiny, elitist and
negative.
Like Ones, Fours compare reality with what could be. While Ones tend
to look for imperfection about them and try to correct what’s wrong,
Fours often turn away from reality and live in their imaginations,
feelings and moods.
Along with Twos and Threes, Fours gravitate towards vanity and
image-confusion but may express it paradoxically. Fours are more
likely to identify with an image of being defective, especially if it
confers on them a quality of uniqueness or exempt specialness. A Four
might, for instance, bemoan his inability to succeed in the everyday
world, but this complaint could carry a subtle quality of boasting. The
Four could have a self-image that is romantically tragic but also elitist.
Healthy Fours tend to be idealistic, have good taste and are great
appreciators of beauty. They filter reality through a rich, subtle
subjectivity and are very good at metaphorical thinking, the capacity
to make connections between unrelated facts and events. The Four
tendency to see things symbolically is enhanced by their emotional
intensity. This creates raw artistic material that almost demands to be
given form. Self-expression and pursuing self-knowledge are high
priorities for people with this style.
Fives, Sixes and Sevens share a general undercurrent of fear and form
another emotional trio. Unlike Twos, Threes and Fours, people within
this group are not confused about who they are or how they feel.
Instead, they tend to unconsciously anticipate life’s dangers and react
from an emotional baseline of fear. Fives, Sixes and Sevens are
generally thinkers—people who live more in their heads than in their
bodies. They struggle with taking action, asserting their wills and
handling power.
A Five’s fears are specifically social; people with this style habitually
guard against being invaded or engulfed by others. This is the most
explicitly antisocial of Enneagram styles. When defensive, Fives can be
withdrawn and standoffish as a way to manage their hypersensitivity
to others. Generally, they fear close relationships as these can lead to
feeling overwhelmed, smothered or swarmed.
Healthy people with this style also practice what the Buddhists call
non-attachment, an attitude characterized by an equal mixture of
detachment and compassion. Within this stance Fives can play the
games of life without being overly attached to results and, as friends,
they may be able to understand your point of view almost as well as
their own. They are sympathetic and kind-hearted but able to see
events from a distant perspective and avoid getting personally upset.
When Fives are less healthy, they slide from nonattachment into
disassociation, the inner state of being cut off from feelings. They may
be hyperaware of the world’s demands, and yet respond passively by
withdrawing. Most outsiders see a Five’s capacity to pull back as a kind
of independence. It is a defense as well; the Five is making a strong
antisocial boundary to compensate for being overly sensitive in the
first place.
Cutting themselves off then becomes a defensive habit. The idea is: If
I can just learn to live with less I’ll avoid the influence of others. This
leads to a tendency to hoard, to save what little they have in order to
need less from others. Fives can hoard time, money, space, land,
information or emotional availability. It doesn’t matter what is
hoarded, the pattern is the same; the Five tries to protect against
flooding by stacking up supplies on some dry inner island.
Unhealthy Fives also stay distant from their own emotions by living in
a world of information and ideas. The more they cut themselves off,
however, the more they struggle with feelings of emptiness, loneliness
and compulsive need. It’s like trying to talk yourself out of being
hungry. At this stage, a Five may be slow to know how she feels
because she can only reach her feelings through a lengthy sequence of
thinking. Unhealthy Fives worship gods of reason and try to look
distantly down on their own emotions. This can also translate into a
superior/arrogant attitude towards other people.
When Fives are very unhealthy, they may become schizoid and
unpredictable, as though disassociated parts of themselves are taking
turns talking. They can project an absent, vaguely shocked aura or be
pointedly antisocial. Fives can, for instance, sit through parties, speak
to no one, but later report having had a good time. Or they might
unconsciously alienate others with nasty sneering commentary and
unpredictable aggression. The habit of disassociating from their
emotions can become so developed that very unhealthy Fives can lose
touch with reality, developing weird phobias of invisible objects like
germs, and be prone to hallucinations. Aggressive episodes are also
possible, followed by bursts of acute paranoia.
Style Six
People who anticipate the world's dangers. When healthy they
are often courageous, loyal and effective. When unhealthy they
can be cowardly, masochistic and paranoid.
Six is the most explicitly fearful style in the Enneagram. People with
this orientation are especially aware of life’s dangers and wary of the
hazards that may lurk beneath everyday appearances.
Healthy phobic Sixes are steady, loyal and idealistic. They are dutiful,
but in a voluntary, dedicated way. They are usually committed to a
group, tradition or cause beyond themselves. They fulfill their
promises, work hard and are honorable, protective friends.
Healthy phobic Sixes are often gracious and diplomatic. They put
people at ease and are well liked for their discretion and manners.
Often they are very funny and have vivid imaginations. Healthy Sixes
handle power with integrity and may be fair-minded leaders because
they sympathize with underdogs. They can affirm their personal value
but also want others in their chosen group to get recognition. Theyre
not pushovers and they will take unpopular stands when necessary.
Generally, however, healthy Sixes work towards solutions that benefit
the group and allow everyone to win.
When less healthy, phobic Sixes can become more blindly dutiful even
as they assume less personal responsibility. They might subtly shift
their power onto an outside authority and begin to romanticize those
who seem surer of themselves. The Six strikes an unconscious bargain
with his hero, a bargain that says, I’ll do what you want me to do if
you’ll protect me from danger. The Six then hides under an imaginary
umbrella, pledging fealty to this outside force, growing addicted to the
security that this arrangement seems to offer. The healthy Six capacity
for deep loyalty is double-edged when less healthy; Sixes are often
loyal to the wrong person.
When they give away their power, phobic Sixes start to chronically
worry and feel consciously helpless. To compensate, they become
cautious and wary, trying to anticipate the motives of others. They
may also try to check their own aggressive or powerful impulses, so
that they don’t deviate from the submissive role they have agreed to
play. They could have trouble finishing what they start as they worry
about who will criticize the finished product. They may seem friendly,
but can be passive-aggressive or give off contradictory messages as
their anger breaks through. Phobic Sixes can also be nervous,
hesitant, skeptical, tense, indecisive and attached to victimhood.
When deeply unhealthy, phobic Sixes become addled with fear and
openly dependent upon others. They might surrender their life to
work, becoming an abject slave to a job or a boss. They could act like
weak, powerless losers and yet demand coddling from friends,
tyrannizing others with their helplessness, placing strict, narrow limits
on what they will risk or try. Very unhealthy phobic Sixes avoid
challenges, chronically catastrophize, and may persecute others who
deviate from norms. They can also be cowardly, legalistic, petty,
intolerant, melodramatic and dogmatic.
Style Seven
People who seek multiple choices and positive futures. May be
well-rounded, affirming and generous. When unhealthy they
can be narcissistic, escapist and insatiable.
Seven is the last style in the emotional trio that responds fearfully to
life. Whereas Fives withdraw socially and Sixes become self-doubting
or suspicious, Sevens manage their fears in a much different way.
People with this style tend to suppress and escape their fears by
willfully focusing on the positive and imagining plans, options and
possibilities. Sevens are natural reframers in that they look on the
bright side of things, make lemonade out of lemons, and keep happily
active. The defensive point of this strategy is to avoid inner pain and
be hard to hit as a moving target.
Healthy Sevens are well-rounded renaissance people who can be
highly accomplished in many disparate realms of interest. Healthy
people with this style are usually adventurous and multi-talented, with
an authentic zest for living. Childlike but not childish, healthy Sevens
are great receivers. Most have a stimulating, positive outlook and can
enthusiastically appreciate life’s gifts, even the little ones. Many
possess an endearing blend of charm and curiosity; they can be
creative, outgoing, generous to friends, and progressively interested in
new horizons. Healthy Sevens are usually highly resilient and bounce
back well from loss and calamity. They are also sensitive and loyal.
At their best, people with this style seek long-range fulfillment and
deeper satisfactions. To this end, they are able to accept the realistic
necessity for both pain and commitment in their lives. Accepting life’s
painful dimension gives a Seven more depth and consequently
enhances their joy. Many Sevens report that being willing to make
appropriate commitments gives their lives an overall structure within
which they can still find variety.
When less healthy, people with this style are prone to escapism and
try to avoid the pain in themselves and others. Sevens project their
power onto outside forces that can confine, restrict, depress or judge
them. Sevens are self-jailing in that they can surround themselves
with people and circumstances that will pin them down or obligate
them, mimicking what the Seven does to him- or herself. After
creating a jail of expectation and obligation, Sevens feel helpless, as
though they have no choice. To compensate, they then hyperflex their
capacity to choose.
Under stress, Sevens also adopt what are called "as if" frames, where
they make up positive fantasies about the future and pretend these
are present and real. Sevens sometimes avoid difficult situations this
way, eliminating the need to struggle, risk failure or have their actions
judged. Most unhealthy Sevens are afraid they are inadequate and
unconsciously compare themselves with others.
When Sevens are deeply unhealthy, the line between reality and
fantasy loosens drastically. They often grow obsessed with grandiose
visions and inflate themselves narcissistically. Very unhealthy Sevens
may completely refuse responsibility for their actions and resist all
realistic constraints on their behavior. They can be wild, impatient,
chaotic, delusional and eruptive. Tendencies toward addictions and
manic-depressive cycles become grippingly strong. Since they can
never permanently satisfy their appetites, Sevens can plunge headlong
into hedonism, seeking more to consume. Anyone who gets in the way
of a manic Seven will be knocked down; all promises to others are
broken. When very unhealthy, Sevens call legal forces down on
themselves. The world has to restrain the antisocial behavior born
from the Seven’s inner cravings.
Style Eight
People who need to be strong, to prevail over circumstance.
When healthy they often are powerful, protective and
committed to a cause. When unhealthy they can be destructive,
excessive and sadistic.
Healthy Eights are often generous, loyal friends who protect what is
soft and vulnerable in others. This is also a metaphor for how Eights
relate to themselves. Beneath their strong outer armor is a younger,
more vulnerable part of themselves that they shield. This part relates
to an innocence of perception that healthy Eights often have. They are
able to see the world as if for the first time, through the eyes of a
child. They may have a related love of nature that is a source of
spirituality and evokes this innocent quality. Unguarded Eights often
demonstrate the strength of gentleness; they are strong enough to be
kind, open enough to be touched, secure enough to be wrong, rich
enough to be generous.
When Eights are less healthy, their preoccupation with power begins to
be tainted by self-interest. While still relatively free of self-doubt,
Eights begin to cover up their vulnerabilities with aggressive displays
of strength. They overidentify with being powerful as a way to deny
their softness and survive in a world that they believe is dangerous.
They may also tend to excess—staying up late, doing too much,
driving too hard, indulging in addictions partly to numb their more
vulnerable feelings.
Less healthy Eights enjoy confrontation and try to make contact with
others primarily through fighting. They also push against others to
assess their motives and measure the degree of external threat. Eights
may narcissistically inflate their presence and seem to take up too
much space in a room. To protect the tender childlike part of
themselves, they can act overbearing, arrogant and insensitive.
Beneath this intimidating shell, an Eight could feel sensitive to
betrayal, vulnerable to ridicule, or weak in a way that he is ashamed
of.
Most Eights don’t quite realize how belligerent they can seem. This is
because they defensively deny feedback, especially about ways they
might have hurt others. Unhealthy Eights can deny feeling guilty,
usually by covering it up with more aggression, while claiming they
have nothing to apologize for. In their mind’s eye, they can see people
as caricatures, two-dimensional objects that can then be skewered
without conscience.
Style Nine
People who are receptive to their environment and play down
their own presence. When healthy they often are loving,
modest and trusting. When unhealthy they can be stubborn,
lazy and soul-dead.
Unlike Eights, who directly express their anger, Nines tamp their anger
down. Their central defensive strategy is to self-efface, to blend with
and accommodate their environment. This tactic requires that Nines
suppress their rough edges and conceal any part of them that might
seem disagreeable. Most Nines resent the consequences of this
strategy: people overlook them but even their anger comes out in
indirect ways.
Many Nines have a calm, egoless focused power that they bring to
bear on whatever is important to them. This power is generally rooted
in love whether the Nine thinks of it that way or not. Most healthy
people with this style want to give to others freely and administrate
their world in a way that benefits those they care about.
Nines are natural diplomats and mediators and can be highly skilled at
resolving conflicts. Since they seek peace, union and harmony, it is
often easy for Nines to find points of agreement between warring
parties. From there, a Nine might patiently negotiate a settlement that
builds on small positive steps. Healthy Nines are gently dynamic,
suffused with a highly integrated sense of self and implicit mission.
Most are also flexible and able to state blunt difficult truths in useful
ways that somehow don’t make others defensive.
Less healthy Nines tend to see all sides of a situation and identify
equally with each outside perspective. They often focus on absurd or
irrelevant details and lose the big picture or forget the original purpose
of a task. They can be overly responsible but under-perform,
obsessively complicating simple tasks even as they minimize the
consequence of not getting important things done. Going in circles
relieves them of the necessity to make decisions and personal choices,
to take responsibility for having a self that they think might be
rejected by others.
Nines often have trouble overtly saying no, but will say it in other
ways, usually through silent stubbornness and passive aggression.
Nines usually blame others explicitly or indirectly for the life they feel
they can’t really have. Deep down there’s an angry, depressed nihilism
in most unhealthy Nines. They have given up on their life and see no
reason to rouse themselves to play what they are convinced is an
empty, fruitless game.
When deeply unhealthy, Nines can sink into depressed self-neglect and
a kind of lazy oblivion that is an imitation of death. They may be
apathetic, habit-bound, callous or numb. They could talk incessantly
about what they know they should do but then never bother to do it.
They might try to avoid conflict but accidentally provoke it through
bursts of disassociated nastiness. They might be disorderly, chaotic or
cluttered and offer convoluted, ill-formed rationales for their
irresponsibility. Deeply unhealthy Nines can do great harm to others
through neglect, broken commitments and passive-aggressive
behavior while stubbornly believing that their actions have no
consequence. Drug and alcohol addiction can also be problems at this
stage.